Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley break down Visa (ticker: V), the global payments powerhouse that acts as the invisible engine behind billions of transactions every day. Visa doesn’t issue cards, lend money, or handle customer accounts — instead, it operates the network that connects banks, merchants, and consumers in over 200 countries.
Whether you’re tapping your card for a coffee, shopping online, or sending money abroad, there’s a good chance Visa is taking a small slice behind the scenes. Visa is to the global economy what highways are to cars — an essential infrastructure layer that makes modern commerce move.
In this episode, you’ll learn how Visa evolved from a consortium of banks to a dominant public company, how it defends its massive competitive moat, where growth will come from beyond traditional card payments, whether emerging technologies like account-to-account payments pose a real threat, how to think about Visa’s valuation, plus so much more!
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IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN
00:00 - Intro
03:04 - How Visa’s business model works and how it earns money from transactions17:49 - Why every player in the payment process needs Visa26:54 - Visa’s origin story and how BofA’s BankAmericard changed banking forever55:36 - Where Visa’s growth will come from in the future47:50 - What are Visa’s Value Added Services and New Flows57:44 - Why Visa’s Moat is so impenetrable1:01:31 - Who are Visa’s competitors and what are the overarching risks1:10:07 - Whether Visa is attractively valued at current levels1:19:10 - Whether Shawn & Daniel add V to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio
*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter.
Visa’s latest Annual Report.
Book to understand Payments: The Pay Off.
The Acquired Podcast on Visa.
Visa Investor Day 2025 Presentation.
Check out our previous Intrinsic Value breakdowns: Nintendo, Airbnb, AutoZone, Alphabet, Ulta, John Deere, and Madison Square Garden Sports.
Check out the books mentioned in the podcast here.
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